Headlamp For Vehicle And Vehicle Including The Same

ABSTRACT

A headlamp includes a light-emitting module that includes a condenser lens that defines an optical axis through a center of the condenser lens and that is configured to focus light incident on a rear surface of the condenser lens. The light-emitting module further includes a laser light source that is located behind the condenser lens and that is configured to generate light toward the condenser lens. The light-emitting module further includes a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) scanner that is located in front of the condenser lens, that is configured to reflect, toward the condenser lens, light generated by the laser light source, and that is configured to scan light generated by the laser light source by moving horizontally and vertically. The light-emitting module further includes a reflection unit that is located behind the condenser lens and that is configured to reflect light reflected by the MEMS scanner.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/249,531, filed Aug. 29, 2016, which claims the benefit of KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2015-0125750, filed on Sep.4, 2015 in and U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/214,745 filed on Sep. 4, 2015, thedisclosures of both are incorporated by reference.

FIELD The present disclosure relates to a headlamp included in avehicle. BACKGROUND

A vehicle is an apparatus driven in a desired direction by a user. Arepresentative example thereof is a car.

The vehicle includes a variety of lamps. For example, the vehicleincludes a headlamp to sufficiently illuminate the road at night.

Light-emitting diodes or laser diodes having good energy efficiency areused a lot in lamp devices of a vehicle.

Particularly, the laser diodes have excellent directionality of light,can be projected a long distance, and do not obstruct the view of adriver of an oncoming vehicle driving in the opposite lane.

SUMMARY

According to an innovative aspect of the subject matter described inthis application, a headlamp for at least one vehicle includes alight-emitting module including a condenser lens that defines an opticalaxis through a center of the condenser lens and that is configured tofocus light incident on a rear surface of the condenser lens; a laserlight source that is located behind the condenser lens and that isconfigured to generate light toward the condenser lens; amicroelectromechanical system (MEMS) scanner that is located in front ofthe condenser lens, that is configured to reflect, toward the condenserlens, light generated by the laser light source, and that is configuredto scan light generated by the laser light source by moving horizontallyand vertically; and a reflection unit that is located behind thecondenser lens and that is configured to reflect, toward the condenserlens, light reflected by the MEMS scanner.

This and other implementations may include one or more of the followingoptional features. The headlamp further includes an interface unit thatis configured to receive oncoming vehicle detection information that isbased on detecting an oncoming vehicle; and a processor that isconfigured to generate a control signal for switching the laser lightsource on or off, based on the oncoming vehicle detection information.The oncoming vehicle detection information is generated by a driverassistance apparatus that comprises a camera and that generates theoncoming vehicle detection information based on the camera capturing animage of a front of a vehicle or an image of a side of a vehicle. Thelight-emitting module further comprises a light source driving unit thatis configured to switch the laser light source on or off based on acontrol signal.

The light-emitting module further comprises a scanner driving unit thatis configured to drive movement of the MEMS scanner. The scanner drivingunit is configured to move the MEMS scanner horizontally in response toreceiving a sinusoidal waveform and move the MEMS scanner vertically inresponse to receiving a sawtooth waveform. The light-emitting modulefurther comprises an auxiliary condenser lens that is configured tofocus light that was reflected by the reflection unit and that passedfrom a back of the condenser lens to the front of the condenser lens.The laser light source and the reflection unit are offset from theoptical axis. The laser light source is spaced apart from the opticalaxis in a first direction that is perpendicular to the optical axis. Thereflection unit is spaced apart from the optical axis in a seconddirection that is opposite the first direction. The reflection unit isspaced apart from the optical axis in the first direction.

The laser light source and the reflection unit are located along an axisthat is parallel to the optical axis of the condenser lens. Thecondenser lens comprises a first half and a second half that are eachadjacent to the optical axis. Light generated by the laser light sourceis incident on the first half, light reflected by the MEMS scanner isincident on the second half, and light reflected by the reflection unitis incident on the second half. Light that is generated by the laserlight source is parallel to the optical axis. The condenser lens is anaspheric lens. The aspheric lens comprises a front surface that isconvex. The rear surface of the aspheric lens is perpendicular to theoptical axis. Light incident to the reflection unit has a differentwavelength than light reflected by the reflection unit. The reflectionunit includes a wavelength conversion layer that is configured toconvert a wavelength of incident light; and a reflection layer that isconfigured to reflect incident light. The headlamp is included in avehicle.

According to another innovative aspect of the subject matter a headlampfor at least one vehicle includes a light-emitting module that includesa condenser lens that defines an optical axis through a center of thecondenser lens and that is configured to focus light incident on a rearsurface of the condenser lens; a laser light source that is locatedbehind the condenser lens and that is configured to generate lighttoward the condenser lens; a reflection unit that is located in front ofthe condenser lens and that is configured to reflect light generated bythe laser light source; a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) scannerthat is located behind the condenser lens, that is configured to reflectlight reflected by the reflection unit, and that is configured to scanlight reflected by the reflection unit by moving horizontally andvertically; and a wavelength conversion unit that is configured toconvert a wavelength of light reflected by the MEMS scanner.

This and other implementations may include one or more of the followingoptional features. The headlamp is included in a vehicle.

It is an object of the subject matter described in this application toprovide a headlamp for vehicles, capable of implementing a beam scanningscheme using a laser light source, and a vehicle including the headlamp.

It is another object of the subject matter described in this applicationto provide a headlamp for vehicles, capable of being appropriatelycontrolled in various situations.

It is another object of the subject matter described in this applicationto provide a light-emitting module having excellent optical efficiency,convergence, and directionality of light and capable of achieving areduction in size

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of an example headlamp of a vehicle that outputs highbeams at night toward an oncoming vehicle driving in the opposite lane.

FIGS. 2(a) to 2(d) are a conceptual views of example schemes forimplementing an adaptive driving beam (ADB) function.

FIG. 3 is a view of an exterior of an example vehicle including aheadlamp.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a view of an exterior of an example driver assistanceapparatus.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example driver assistance apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example in-vehicle lamp.

FIG. 8 is a reference view of an example headlamp for vehicles.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual view of an example light-emitting module.

FIG. 10 is a reference view of an example microelectromechanical system(MEMS) scanner package.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are reference views of an example MEMS scanner.

FIGS. 13(a) and 13(b) are views of example driving signal waveforms of ascanner.

FIG. 14 is a view of example horizontal driving and vertical driving ofa scanner based on the driving signal waveforms of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual view of an example light-emitting module.

FIG. 16 is a conceptual view of a path of light output from an examplelight-emitting module.

FIGS. 17 and 18 are reference views of refraction and reflection oflight output from an example light-emitting module.

FIGS. 19(a) and 19(b) are cross-sectional views of example reflectionunits.

FIGS. 20 to 24(b) are reference views of example light-emitting modulesand scanning operations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A vehicle described in this specification may include a car and amotorcycle. The following description is focused on a car as thevehicle.

In some implementations, a vehicle described in this specification mayinclude all of an internal combustion engine vehicle including an engineas a power source, a hybrid vehicle including both an engine and anelectric motor as power sources, and an electric vehicle including anelectric motor as a power source.

For convenience of vehicle users, the vehicle includes a variety ofsensors, electronic devices, etc. In some implementations, variousdevices are developed to assist driving of the users and variousfunctions are provided to a headlamp of the vehicle.

Among the functions of the headlamp, an adaptive driving beam (ADB)function refers to a function for outputting a high beam while drivingto sufficiently illuminate the road without causing glare to a driver ofan oncoming vehicle driving in the opposite lane as illustrated in FIG.1.

FIGS. 2(a)-2(d) illustrate example ADB functions, and illustrate lightoutput from a left headlamp. A right headlamp may output light in thesame manner as the left headlamp.

Referring to FIG. 2, the ADB function is implemented using a schemeusing mechanical movement (a), a scheme using matrix LEDs (b), and ascheme using pixel lights (c).

Referring to FIG. 2(a), in the scheme using mechanical movement, amechanical device, such as a motor, rotates an LED light source not tooutput light toward an oncoming vehicle driving in the opposite lane.

In some implementations, rotation and response speeds are low, lightingis not soft, and optical efficiency is reduced.

In some implementations, if the LED light source is rotated to any onedirection, no light is output in another direction.

Referring to FIG. 2(b), in the scheme using matrix LEDs, some of thematrix LEDs are turned off not to output light toward an oncomingvehicle driving in the opposite lane.

In some implementations, not only are multiple LEDs necessary but also alarge number of optical components and a complicated structure are usedto accurately drive the multiple LEDs and to output light to an accurateposition.

In some implementations, the LEDs are high-priced, reliability islowered due to excessive operation heat of the components, and anachievable resolution is limited due to spatial restrictions.

Referring to FIG. 2(c), compared to the scheme using matrix LEDs, thescheme using pixel lights uses a larger number of LED light sources toincrease resolution. In the scheme using pixel lights, similarly to thescheme using matrix LEDs, some LEDs are turned off not to output lighttoward an oncoming vehicle driving in the opposite lane.

In some implementations, not only are multiple LEDs necessary but also alarge number of optical components and a complicated structure are usedto accurately drive the multiple LEDs and to output light to an accurateposition.

FIG. 2(d) shows a beam scanning scheme using a laser light source.

According to the beam scanning scheme using a laser light source, anultra-high resolution is achievable by rapidly scanning laser light, anda reduction in the number of optical components is expected.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example vehicle 700 including a headlamp 200.

Referring to FIG. 3, the vehicle 700 may include wheels 103FR, 103FL,103RR, . . . rotating due to power supplied from a power source, and adriver assistance apparatus 100 and an in-vehicle lamp 200 included inthe vehicle 700.

The driver assistance apparatus 100 may include at least one camera, andan image obtained by the camera may be signal-processed by a processor170 (see FIG. 6).

FIG. 3 illustrates an example driver assistance apparatus 100 thatincludes two cameras.

The in-vehicle lamp 200 may be one of a headlamp and a rear combinationlamp. The following description assumes that the in-vehicle lamp 200 isa headlamp.

The in-vehicle lamp 200 may include two, four, or six lamps. In someimplementations, light output from the in-vehicle lamp 200 may be whiteor yellow. In some implementations, the number of lamps or the color oflight of the in-vehicle lamp 200 may vary depending on countryregulations or situations.

An overall length refers to the length of the vehicle 700 from a frontpart to a back part, an overall width refers to the width of the vehicle700, and an overall height refers to the height of the vehicle 700 fromthe bottom of the wheels to the roof. In the following description, anoverall length direction L may refer to a reference direction formeasuring the overall length of the vehicle 700, an overall widthdirection W may refer to a reference direction for measuring the overallwidth of the vehicle 700, and an overall height direction H may refer toa reference direction for measuring the overall height of the vehicle700.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example vehicle 700. Referring to FIG. 4, thevehicle 700 may include a communication unit 710, an input unit 720, asensing unit 760, an output unit 740, a vehicle driving unit 750, amemory 730, an interface unit 780, a controller 770, a power source unit790, the driver assistance apparatus 100, and an audio/video/navigation(AVN) apparatus 400.

The communication unit 710 may include one or more modules for enablingwireless communication between the vehicle 700 and a mobile terminal600, between the vehicle 700 and an external server 510, or between thevehicle 700 and another vehicle 520. In some implementations, thecommunication unit 710 may include one or more modules for connectingthe vehicle 700 to one or more networks.

The communication unit 710 may include a broadcast reception module 711,the wireless Internet module 712, a short-range communication module713, a location information module 714, and an optical communicationmodule 715.

The broadcast reception module 711 receives a broadcast signal orbroadcast-related information through a broadcast channel from anexternal broadcast management server. Herein, broadcast includes radiobroadcast or TV broadcast.

The wireless Internet module 712 refers to a module for wirelessInternet access and may be embedded in or attached to the vehicle 700.The wireless Internet module 712 is configured to transmit and receivewireless signals in communication networks according to wirelessInternet technologies.

The wireless Internet technologies include, for example, Wireless LocalArea Network (WLAN), Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Wireless-Fidelity Direct(Wi-Fi Direct), Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), WirelessBroadband (WiBro), World Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX),High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed Uplink PacketAccess (HSUPA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and Long TermEvolution-Advanced (LTE-A), and the wireless Internet module 712transmits and receives data according to at least one wireless Internettechnology including those listed above and others. For example, thewireless Internet module 712 may wirelessly exchange data with theexternal server 510. The wireless Internet module 712 may receiveweather information and traffic condition information (e.g., TransportProtocol Experts Group (TPEG) information) from the external server 510.

The short-range communication module 713 is used for short-rangecommunication and may support short-range communication using at leastone technology among Bluetooth™, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID),Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), ZigBee, NearField Communication (NFC), Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Wireless-FidelityDirect (Wi-Fi Direct), and Wireless Universal Serial Bus (Wireless USB).

The short-range communication module 713 may form a wireless areanetwork and perform short-range communication between the vehicle 700and at least one external device. For example, the short-rangecommunication module 713 may wirelessly exchange data with the mobileterminal 600. The short-range communication module 713 may receiveweather information and traffic condition information (e.g., TPEGinformation) from the mobile terminal 600. For example, if a user getsin the vehicle 700, the mobile terminal 600 of the user and the vehicle700 may be paired with each other automatically or when the userexecutes an application.

The location information module 714 is a module for acquiring locationinformation of the vehicle 700, and a representative example thereof isa global positioning system (GPS) module. For example, if the GPS moduleis used, the vehicle 700 may acquire the location information of thevehicle 700 using a signal transmitted from a GPS satellite.

The optical communication module 715 may include a light transmitter anda light receiver.

The light receiver may receive information by converting a light signalinto an electrical signal. The light receiver may include a photodiode(PD) for receiving light. The PD may convert light into an electricalsignal. For example, the light receiver may receive information aboutanother vehicle driving in front of the vehicle 700 using light emittedfrom a light source of the other vehicle.

The light transmitter may include at least one light-emitting device forconverting an electrical signal into a light signal. Herein, thelight-emitting device may be a light-emitting diode (LED). The lighttransmitter converts an electrical signal into a light signal and emitsthe light signal. For example, the light transmitter may emit the lightsignal by turning on a light-emitting device corresponding to a certainfrequency. In some implementations, the light transmitter may include anarray of a plurality of light-emitting devices. In some implementations,the light transmitter may be integrated with a lamp included in thevehicle 700. For example, the light transmitter may include at least oneof a headlight, a taillight, a brake light, a turn signal light, and asidelight. For example, the optical communication module 715 mayexchange data with the other vehicle 520 through optical communication.

The input unit 720 may include a driving manipulation control 721, acamera 195, a microphone 723, and a user input unit 724.

The driving manipulation control 721 receives a user input for drivingthe vehicle 700. The driving manipulation control 721 may include asteering input control (e.g., a steering wheel), a shift input control(e.g., a gear shift), an acceleration input control (e.g., accelerationpedal), and a brake input control (e.g., brake pedal).

The steering input control receives a driving direction input of thevehicle 700 from the user. The steering input control may be provided inthe form of a wheel capable of providing a steering input due torotation. In some implementations, the steering input control mayalternatively be provided in the form of a touchscreen, a touchpad, orbuttons.

The shift input control receives a park (P), drive (D), neutral (N), orreverse (R) input of the vehicle 700 from the user. The shift inputcontrol may be provided in the form of a lever. In some implementations,the shift input control may alternatively be provided in the form of atouchscreen, a touchpad, or buttons.

The acceleration input control receives an input for accelerating thevehicle 700 from the user. The brake input control receives an input fordecelerating the vehicle 700 from the user. The acceleration inputcontrol and the brake input control may be provided in the form ofpedals. In some implementations, the acceleration input control or thebrake input control may alternatively be provided in the form of atouchscreen, a touchpad, or buttons.

The camera 195 may include an image sensor and an image processingmodule. The camera 195 may process a still image or a moving imageobtained by the image sensor (e.g., a complementary metal oxidesemiconductor (CMOS) device or a charge-coupled device (CCD)). The imageprocessing module may extract necessary information by processing thestill image or the moving image obtained by the image sensor, andtransmit the extracted information to the controller 770. The vehicle700 may include the camera 195 for capturing a vehicle front side imageor a vehicle peripheral image, and an internal camera 195 for capturinga vehicle inside image.

The internal camera 195 may obtain a driver or passenger image. Theinternal camera 195 may obtain an image for acquiring biometricinformation of the driver or the passenger.

Although FIG. 4 shows that the camera 195 is included in the input unit720, the camera 195 may alternatively be included in the driverassistance apparatus 100.

The microphone 723 may process an external audio signal into electricaldata. The processed data may be utilized in various ways based on afunction currently performed by the vehicle 700. The microphone 723 mayconvert a voice command of the user into electrical data. The convertedelectrical data may be transmitted to the controller 770.

In some implementations, the camera 195 or the microphone 723 may not beincluded in the input unit 720 but may be included in the sensing unit760.

The user input unit 724 is used to receive information from the user. Ifinformation is input through the user input unit 724, the controller 770may control operation of the vehicle 700 to correspond to the inputinformation. The user input unit 724 may include a touch input controlor a mechanical input device. In some implementations, the user inputunit 724 may be provided on a part of a steering wheel. In someimplementations, the driver may manipulate the user input unit 724 withfingers while gripping the steering wheel.

The sensing unit 760 senses signals related to, for example, driving ofthe vehicle 700. To this end, the sensing unit 760 may include a crashsensor, a wheel sensor, a speed sensor, a tilt sensor, a weight sensor,a heading sensor, a yaw sensor, a gyro sensor, a position module, avehicle drive/reverse sensor, a battery sensor, a fuel sensor, a tiresensor, a steering sensor, a vehicle internal temperature sensor, avehicle internal humidity sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a radar, alidar, etc.

As such, the sensing unit 760 may acquire sensing signals related tovehicle crash information, vehicle direction information, vehiclelocation information (e.g., GPS information), vehicle angle information,vehicle speed information, vehicle acceleration information, vehicletilt information, vehicle drive/reverse information, batteryinformation, fuel information, tire information, vehicle lampinformation, vehicle internal temperature information, vehicle internalhumidity information, steering wheel rotation angle information, etc.

The sensing unit 760 may further include an accelerator pedal sensor, apressure sensor, an engine speed sensor, an air flow sensor (AFS), anair temperature sensor (ATS), a water temperature sensor (WTS), athrottle position sensor (TPS), a top dead center (TDC) sensor, a crankangle sensor (CAS), etc.

The sensing unit 760 may include a biometric information detection unit.The biometric information detection unit senses and acquires biometricinformation of the driver or the passenger. The biometric informationmay include fingerprint information, iris-scan information, retina-scaninformation, hand geometry information, facial recognition information,and voice recognition information. The biometric information detectionunit may include a sensor for sensing the biometric information of thedriver or the passenger. Herein, the internal camera 195 and themicrophone 723 may operate as sensors. The biometric informationdetection unit may acquire the hand geometry information and the facialrecognition information using the internal camera 195.

The output unit 740 is used to output information processed by thecontroller 770, and may include a display unit 741, an audio output unit742, and a haptic output unit 743.

The display unit 741 may display the information processed by thecontroller 770. For example, the display unit 741 may display vehicleinformation. Herein, the vehicle information may include vehicle controlinformation for directly controlling the vehicle 700, or driverassistance information for providing driving guide service to the driverof the vehicle 700. In some implementations, the vehicle information mayinclude vehicle state information indicating a current state of thevehicle 700, or vehicle driving information related to driving of thevehicle 700.

The display unit 741 may include at least one of a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT LCD),an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display, a3-dimensional (3D) display, and an electrophoretic ink (e-ink) display.

The display unit 741 may be layered on or integrated with a touchsensor, and thus may implement a touchscreen. The touchscreen may serveas the user input unit 724 for providing an input interface between thevehicle 700 and the user and, at the same time, provide an outputinterface between the vehicle 700 and the user. In some implementations,the display unit 741 may include a touch sensor for sensing touch on thedisplay unit 741, and thus may receive a control command input using thetouch. As such, if the display unit 741 is touched, the touch sensor maysense the touch and the controller 770 may generate a control commandcorresponding to the touch. An input using touch may be, for example,text, a number, or a menu item indictable or specifiable in variousmodes.

The display unit 741 may include a cluster such that the driver maycheck the vehicle state information or the vehicle driving informationimmediately after the driver starts driving. The cluster may be locatedon a dashboard. In some implementations, the driver may check theinformation displayed on the cluster while continuously looking ahead.

In some implementations, the display unit 741 may be implemented as ahead up display (HUD). If the display unit 741 is implemented as a HUD,the display unit 741 may output the information using a transparentdisplay included in a windshield. In some implementations, the displayunit 741 may include a projection module and thus may output theinformation using an image projected onto the windshield.

The audio output unit 742 converts an electrical signal received fromthe controller 770, into an audio signal, and outputs the audio signal.To this end, the audio output unit 742 may include, for example, aspeaker. The audio output unit 742 may also output sound correspondingto operation of the user input unit 724.

The haptic output unit 743 generates a haptic output. For example, thehaptic output unit 743 may vibrate a steering wheel, a seat belt, or aseat to make the user recognize the output.

The vehicle driving unit 750 may control operations of variousapparatuses included in the vehicle 700. The vehicle driving unit 750may include a power source driving unit 751, a steering driving unit752, a brake driving unit 753, the lamp driving unit 754, theair-conditioner driving unit 755, the window driving unit 756, an airbagdriving unit 757, the sunroof driving unit 758, and a suspension drivingunit 759.

The power source driving unit 751 may electronically control a powersource included in the vehicle 700.

For example, if an engine based on fossil fuel is the power source, thepower source driving unit 751 may electronically control the engine. Assuch, the power source driving unit 751 may control, for example, anoutput torque of the engine. When the power source driving unit 751 isan engine, the power source driving unit 751 may limit the speed of thevehicle 700 by restricting an output torque of the engine under controlof the controller 770.

As another example, if a motor based on electricity is the power source,the power source driving unit 751 may control the motor. As such, thepower source driving unit 751 may control, for example, the speed andtorque of the motor.

The steering driving unit 752 may electronically control a steeringapparatus included in the vehicle 700. As such, the steering drivingunit 752 may change the driving direction of the vehicle 700.

The brake driving unit 753 may electronically control a brake apparatusincluded in the vehicle 700. For example, the brake driving unit 753 maycontrol operation of brakes provided on wheels, and thus reduce thespeed of the vehicle 700. As another example, the brake driving unit 753may differently control operations of brakes provided on a left wheeland a right wheel, and thus may adjust the driving direction of thevehicle 700 to the left or right.

The air-conditioner driving unit 755 may electronically control anair-conditioner included in the vehicle 700. For example, if thetemperature inside the vehicle 700 is high, the air-conditioner drivingunit 755 may control the air-conditioner to supply cool air into thevehicle 700.

The window driving unit 756 may electronically control a windowapparatus included in the vehicle 700. For example, the window drivingunit 756 may control left and right windows of the vehicle 700 to beopened or closed.

The airbag driving unit 757 may electronically control an airbagapparatus included in the vehicle 700. For example, the airbag drivingunit 757 may control an airbag to inflate when the vehicle 700 crashes.

The sunroof driving unit 758 may electronically control a sunroofapparatus included in the vehicle 700. For example, the sunroof drivingunit 758 may control the sunroof to be opened or closed.

The suspension driving unit 759 may electronically control a suspensionapparatus included in the vehicle 700. For example, the suspensiondriving unit 759 may control the suspension apparatus on a bumpy road toreduce impact applied to the vehicle 700.

The memory 730 is electrically connected to the controller 770. Thememory 730 may store basic data about each element, control data forcontrolling operation of each element, and input and output data. Thememory 730 may include a variety of storage devices such as a ROM, aRAM, an EPROM, a flash drive, and a hard drive, in terms of hardware.The memory 730 may store various types of data for overall operation ofthe vehicle 700, e.g., programs for processing or control operations ofthe controller 770.

The interface unit 780 may serve as a path to various external devicesconnected to the vehicle 700. For example, the interface unit 780 mayinclude a port connectable to the mobile terminal 600, and may beconnected through the port to the mobile terminal 600. In someimplementations, the interface unit 780 may exchange data with themobile terminal 600.

The interface unit 780 may serve as a path for supplying electricalenergy to the connected mobile terminal 600. If the mobile terminal 600is electrically connected to the interface unit 780, the interface unit780 provides electrical energy supplied from the power source unit 790,to the mobile terminal 600 under control of the controller 770.

The controller 770 may control overall operation of elements included inthe vehicle 700. The controller 770 may be called an electronic controlunit (ECU).

The controller 770 may be implemented using at least one of applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs),digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices(PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers,microcontrollers, microprocessors, and electrical units for performingother functions, in terms of hardware.

The power source unit 790 may supply power necessary for operation ofeach element under control of the controller 770. Particularly, thepower source unit 790 may receive power supplied from, for example, abattery included in the vehicle 700.

The driver assistance apparatus 100 may exchange data with thecontroller 770. A control signal generated by the driver assistanceapparatus 100 may be output to the controller 770.

The AVN apparatus 400 may exchange data with the controller 770.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example driver assistance apparatus 100.

Although FIG. 5 shows that the driver assistance apparatus 100 includestwo cameras, more cameras may be included.

Referring to FIG. 5, the driver assistance apparatus 100 may include afirst camera 195 a including a first lens 193 a, and a second camera 195b including a second lens 193 b.

The driver assistance apparatus 100 may include a first light shield 192a and a second light shield 192 b for shielding light from beingincident on the first and second lenses 193 a and 193 b, respectively.

The driver assistance apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 5 may beattachable to the roof or the windshield of the vehicle 700.

The driver assistance apparatus 100 may obtain a stereo image of a frontside of the vehicle 700 from the first and second cameras 195 a and 195b, detect disparity information based on the stereo image, detect anobject in at least one image included in the stereo image based on thedisparity information, and track motion of the object after the objectis detected.

In some implementations, the distance from the vehicle 700 may becalculated to be small if a disparity level is large, and may becalculated to be large if the disparity level is small.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example driver assistance apparatus 100.

Referring to FIG. 6, the driver assistance apparatus 100 may generatevehicle information by signal-processing an image received from thecamera 195, based on computer vision. Herein, the vehicle informationmay include vehicle control information for directly controlling thevehicle 700, or driver assistance information for providing drivingguide service to the driver of the vehicle 700.

Herein, the camera 195 may be a mono camera. In some implementations,the camera 195 may be the stereo cameras 195 a and 195 b for capturing avehicle front side image. Otherwise, the camera 195 may be an aroundview camera for capturing a vehicle peripheral image.

The driver assistance apparatus 100 may include an input unit 110, acommunication unit 120, an interface unit 130, a memory 140, a processor170, a power supply unit 190, a camera 195, a display unit 180, and anaudio output unit 185.

The input unit 110 may include a plurality of buttons or a touchscreenattached to the driver assistance apparatus 100 and, more particularly,to the camera 195. Using the buttons or the touchscreen, the driverassistance apparatus 100 may be powered on. In some implementations, avariety of input operations may be performed.

The communication unit 120 may exchange data with the mobile terminal600 or the server 500 using a wireless scheme. Particularly, thecommunication unit 120 may exchange data with a mobile terminal of thedriver of the vehicle 700 using a wireless scheme. The wireless datacommunication scheme includes various data communication schemes such asBluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi, APiX, and NFC.

The communication unit 120 may receive weather information and trafficcondition information (e.g., TPEG information) from the mobile terminal600 or the server 500. Real-time information acquired by the driverassistance apparatus 100 may be transmitted to the mobile terminal 600or the server 500.

If a user gets in the vehicle 700, the mobile terminal 600 of the userand the driver assistance apparatus 100 may be paired with each otherautomatically or when the user executes an application.

The interface unit 130 may receive data related to the vehicle 700 ortransmit a signal processed or generated by the processor 270, to theoutside. To this end, the interface unit 130 may perform datacommunication with the controller 770, the AVN apparatus 400, the sensorunit 760, etc. of the vehicle 700 using a wired or wirelesscommunication scheme.

The interface unit 130 may receive sensor information from thecontroller 770 or the sensor unit 760.

Herein, the sensor information may include at least one of vehicledirection information, vehicle location information (e.g., GPSinformation), vehicle angle information, vehicle speed information,vehicle acceleration information, vehicle tilt information, vehicledrive/reverse information, battery information, fuel information, tireinformation, vehicle lamp information, vehicle internal temperatureinformation, and vehicle internal humidity information.

The sensor information may be acquired using a heading sensor, a yawsensor, a gyro sensor, a position module, a vehicle drive/reversesensor, a wheel sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, a vehicle tilt sensor, abattery sensor, a fuel sensor, a tire sensor, a steering sensor, avehicle internal temperature sensor, a vehicle internal humidity sensor,etc. The position module may include a GPS module for receiving GPSinformation.

In the sensor information, the vehicle direction information, thevehicle location information, the vehicle angle information, the vehiclespeed information, and the vehicle tilt information related to drivingof the vehicle 700 may be called vehicle driving information.

The memory 140 may store various types of data for overall operation ofthe driver assistance apparatus 100, e.g., programs for processing orcontrol operations of the processor 170.

The memory 140 may include a variety of storage devices such as aread-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), a flash drive, and a hard drive,in terms of hardware

The processor 170 controls overall operation of elements of the driverassistance apparatus 100.

The processor 170 may process a vehicle front side image or a vehicleperipheral image obtained by the camera 195. Particularly, the processor170 performs signal processing based on computer vision. As such, theprocessor 170 may obtain the vehicle front side image or the vehicleperipheral image from the camera 195, and perform object detection andobject tracking based on the obtained image. For object detection, theprocessor 170 may perform lane detection (LD), vehicle detection (VD),pedestrian detection (PD), bright-spot detection (BD), traffic signalrecognition (TSR), or road surface detection.

The processor 170 may be implemented using at least one of ASICs, DSPs,DSPDs, PLDs, FPGAs, processors, controllers, microcontrollers,microprocessors, and electrical units for performing other functions.

The processor 170 may be controlled by the controller 770.

The display unit 180 may display various types of information processedby the processor 170. The display unit 180 may display an image relatedto operation of the driver assistance apparatus 100. To display theimage, the display unit 180 may include a cluster or a head up display(HUD) provided at a front part in the vehicle 700. If the display unit180 is a HUD, the display unit 180 may include a projection module forprojecting an image onto the windshield of the vehicle 700.

The audio output unit 185 may output sound based on an audio signalprocessed by the processor 170. To this end, the audio output unit 185may include at least one speaker.

An audio input unit may receive an audio input of the user. To this end,the audio input unit may include a microphone. The received audio inputmay be converted into an electrical signal and the electrical signal maybe transmitted to the processor 170.

The power supply unit 190 may supply power necessary for operation ofeach element, under control of the processor 170. Particularly, thepower supply unit 190 may receive power supplied from, for example, abattery included in the vehicle 700.

The camera 195 obtains a vehicle front side image or a vehicleperipheral image. The camera 195 may be a mono camera or the stereocameras 195 a and 195 b for capturing the vehicle front side image. Insome implementations, the camera 195 may include multiple cameras forcapturing the vehicle peripheral image.

The camera 195 may include an image sensor (e.g., a CMOS device or aCCD) and an image processing module.

The camera 195 may process a still image or a moving image obtained bythe image sensor. The image processing module may process the stillimage or the moving image obtained by the image sensor. In someimplementations, the image processing module may be separate from orintegrated with the processor 170.

If the driver assistance apparatus 100 includes the stereo cameras 195 aand 195 b, the processor 170 performs signal processing based oncomputer vision. As such, the processor 170 may obtain a stereo image ofa front side of the vehicle 700 from the stereo cameras 195 a and 195 b,calculate disparity information based on the stereo image, detect anobject in at least one image included in the stereo image based on thecalculated disparity information, and track motion of the object afterthe object is detected. Herein, the stereo image is generated using afirst image received from the first camera 195 a and a second imagereceived from the second camera 195 b.

In some implementations, the processor 170 may calculate the distance toa detected adjacent vehicle, calculate the speed of the detectedadjacent vehicle, and calculate a relative speed compared to thedetected adjacent vehicle.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example in-vehicle lamp 200.

Referring to FIG. 7, a description is now given of the in-vehicle lamp200 in terms of control.

The in-vehicle lamp 200 may include an input unit 210, a memory 230, afirst light-emitting module 300 a, a second light-emitting module 300 b,a processor 270, an interface unit 280, and a power supply unit 290.

The input unit 210 may include an input control capable of receiving auser input for controlling operation of the in-vehicle lamp 200. Theinput unit 210 may be included in the vehicle 700. The input unit 210may include a touch input control or a mechanical input device. Theinput unit 210 may receive a user input for turning on or off thein-vehicle lamp 200. The input unit 210 may receive user inputs forcontrolling a variety of operations of the in-vehicle lamp 200.

The input unit 210 may receive user inputs for controlling the first andsecond light-emitting modules 300 a and 300 b.

The memory 230 may store basic data about each element of the in-vehiclelamp 200, control data for controlling operation of each element, anddata input to and output from the in-vehicle lamp 200.

The memory 230 may include a variety of storage devices such as a ROM, aRAM, an EPROM, a flash drive, and a hard drive, in terms of hardware.

The memory 230 may store various types of data for overall operation ofthe in-vehicle lamp 200, e.g., programs for processing or controloperations of the processor 270.

The first light-emitting module 300 a may include a scanner 255, a lightsource driving unit 260 a, and a light source 265 a.

The light source driving unit 260 a may control the light source 265 abased on a control signal received from the processor 170. In someimplementations, the light source driving unit 260 a applies a drivingcurrent to the light source 265 a based on the control signal. Based onthe driving current applied from the light source driving unit 260 a,light emitted from the light source 265 a may be controlled.

Herein, the light source 265 a may be a laser diode, and the lightsource driving unit 260 a may be a laser diode driver.

The scanner 255 may be a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) scanner.Detailed descriptions of the structure and operation of the scanner 255will be given below with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14.

In some implementations, the first light-emitting module 300 a mayfurther include a scanner driving unit 250 for driving the scanner 255,and the processor 270 may control the scanner driving unit 250 forcontrolling the scanner 255.

The scanner driving unit 250 may include a sine wave generator circuit,a triangular wave generator circuit, a signal combining circuit, etc.,and generate a driving frequency for driving the scanner 255 based on areceived scanner driving signal, and the scanner 255 may be horizontallyand vertically driven to scan light based on horizontal and verticaldriving frequencies.

The scanner driving unit 250 may drive the horizontal direction scanningoperation based on a sinusoidal waveform, and drive the verticaldirection scanning operation based on a sawtooth waveform.

The scanner driving unit 250 may generate a signal for driving the MEMSscanner 255. In some implementations, the scanner driving unit 250 maysense motion of and control a driving algorithm of the scanner 255.

The first light-emitting module 300 a may be a high beam emissionmodule.

The second light-emitting module 300 b may include a light sourcedriving unit 260 b, a light source 265 b, a reflector, and a lens.

The light source driving unit 260 b may control the light source 265 bbased on a control signal received from the processor 170. In someimplementations, the light source driving unit 260 b applies a drivingcurrent to the light source 265 b based on the control signal. Based onthe driving current applied from the light source driving unit 260 b,light emitted from the light source 265 b may be controlled.

The light source 265 b may generate light. The light source 265 b mayconvert electrical energy into light energy. The light source 265 b mayinclude one of a metal filament lamp, a halogen bulb, a high intensitydischarge (HID) lamp, a neon gas discharge lamp, a light-emitting diode(LED), and a laser diode.

The light generated by the light source 265 b may be projected towardthe front side of the vehicle 700 directly or after being reflected bythe reflector.

The reflector may reflect the light generated by the light source 265 bto induce the light to be projected toward the front side of the vehicle700. The reflector may be produced using a material having goodreflectance, e.g., aluminum (Al) or silver (Ag), or may be coated on alight reflecting surface.

The lens is provided in front of the light source 265 b and thereflector. The lens refracts and transmits the light emitted from thelight source 265 b or the light reflected by the reflector. The lens maybe an aspherical lens.

In some implementations, the second light-emitting module 300 b may notinclude the lens.

The in-vehicle lamp 200 may further include a cover lens. The cover lenscovers an opening of a housing which configures the exterior of thein-vehicle lamp 200. The cover lens is formed of transparent plastic orglass. In general, the cover lens is formed of ALDC plastic havingexcellent thermal conductivity.

The second light-emitting module 300 b may be a low beam emissionmodule. If the second light-emitting module 300 b generates a low beam,the second light-emitting module 300 b includes a light shielding cap toprevent upward emission of light.

In some implementations, the in-vehicle lamp 200 may include a pluralityof first light-emitting modules 300 a and/or a plurality of secondlight-emitting modules 300 b.

The first and second light-emitting modules 300 a and 300 b may beconfigured differently. For example, the in-vehicle lamp 200 may includetwo first light-emitting modules 300 a. In some implementations, thein-vehicle lamp 200 may include one first light-emitting module 300 a.

The processor 270 may control overall operation of elements included inthe in-vehicle lamp 200.

The processor 270 may output a control signal to the scanner drivingunit 250 to control operation or the state of the scanner 255.

The processor 270 may output a control signal to the light sourcedriving unit 260 a or 260 b to control operation or the state of thelight source 265 a or 265 b.

The processor 270 may be controlled by the controller 770 of the vehicle700.

The processor 270 may be implemented using at least one of ASICs, DSPs,DSPDs, PLDs, FPGAs, processors, controllers, microcontrollers,microprocessors, and electrical units for performing other functions, interms of hardware.

The interface unit 280 may receive data or user input related to thevehicle 700 or transmit a signal processed or generated by the processor270, to the outside. To this end, the interface unit 130 may performdata communication with the controller 770, the sensor unit 760, thedriver assistance apparatus 100, etc. of the vehicle 700 using a wiredor wireless communication scheme.

The interface unit 280 may receive sensor information from thecontroller 770 or the sensor unit 760.

Herein, the sensor information may include at least one of vehicledirection information, vehicle location information (e.g., GPSinformation), vehicle angle information, vehicle speed information,vehicle acceleration information, vehicle tilt information, vehicledrive/reverse information, battery information, fuel information, tireinformation, vehicle lamp information, vehicle internal temperatureinformation, and vehicle internal humidity information.

The sensor information may be acquired using a heading sensor, a yawsensor, a gyro sensor, a position module, a vehicle drive/reversesensor, a wheel sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, a vehicle tilt sensor, abattery sensor, a fuel sensor, a tire sensor, a steering sensor, avehicle internal temperature sensor, a vehicle internal humidity sensor,etc. The position module may include a GPS module for receiving GPSinformation.

In the sensor information, the vehicle direction information, thevehicle location information, the vehicle angle information, the vehiclespeed information, and the vehicle tilt information related to drivingof the vehicle 700 may be called vehicle driving information.

The interface unit 280 may receive object information detected by thedriver assistance apparatus 100, from the controller 770 or the driverassistance apparatus 100.

The driver assistance apparatus 100 may perform lane detection (LD),vehicle detection (VD), pedestrian detection (PD), bright-spot detection(BD), traffic signal recognition (TSR), or road surface detection basedon the obtained vehicle front side image. The interface unit 280 mayreceive the detected object information from the driver assistanceapparatus 100. In some implementations, the interface unit 280 mayreceive the detected object information via the controller 770.

For example, if the driver assistance apparatus 100 detects an oncomingvehicle driving in the opposite lane, the interface unit 280 may receiveoncoming vehicle detection information. Herein, the oncoming vehicledetection information may include location information of the oncomingvehicle, and relative distance information and relative speedinformation between the vehicle 700 and the oncoming vehicle.

The power supply unit 290 may supply power necessary for operation ofeach element of the in-vehicle lamp 200, under control of the processor270. Particularly, the power supply unit 290 may receive power suppliedfrom, for example, a battery included in the vehicle 700.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example headlamp for vehicles.

A description is now given of the headlamp in terms of structure withreference to FIG. 8.

Referring to FIG. 8, the in-vehicle lamp 200 includes a lamp housing 201the first light-emitting module 300 a located inside the lamp housing201.

In some implementations the in-vehicle lamp 200 may further include thesecond light-emitting module 300 b.

The lamp housing 201 provides a space for accommodating the firstlight-emitting module 300 a or/and the second light-emitting module 300b.

Herein, the first and second light-emitting modules 300 a and 300 b mayemit the same wavelength of light. In some implementations, the firstand second light-emitting modules 300 a and 300 b may generate differentcolors of light, or generate plane light and point light.

The light generated by the second light-emitting module 300 b hasexcellent diffusivity and thus may be projected to a short-distancearea, and the light generated by the first light-emitting module 300 ahas excellent directionality and thus may be projected to along-distance small area. In some implementations, the firstlight-emitting module 300 a may use a laser diode as a light sourcethereof, and the second light-emitting module 300 b may use a xenon lampas a light source thereof.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example light-emitting module.

Referring to FIG. 9, the light-emitting module may include opticalcomponents such as a laser light source 2, a prism 3, a lens 4, and areflection unit 7, a MEMS scanner 5, and a transmissive phosphor 6.

Blue light generated by the laser diode 2 is focused through the prism 3and the lens 4, and the focused light is scanned by the MEMS scanner 5in vertical and horizontal directions.

The light scanned by the MEMS scanner 5 is converted into white lightthrough the transmissive phosphor 6, and the converted white light isemitted in a front direction by the reflection unit 7.

Accordingly, a front side of the vehicle 700 may be scanned and a highbeam may be output using only a small number of laser light sources 2.

However, the light-emitting module of FIG. 9 uses a plurality ofcomponents and a small headlamp may not be produced due to the size ofeach component and an optical path along which light passes through eachcomponent only once. Accordingly, an example headlamp structure withreference to FIGS. 15 to 24 may be used.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example MEMS scanner package. Referring to FIG.10, the MEMS scanner package may include a MEMS scanner 1010 including amirror 1011 for reflecting light, an inner magnet 1020 provided to facea rear surface of the mirror 1011, and an outer magnet 1030 providedoutside the inner magnet 1020.

The inner and outer magnets 1020 and 1030 may be spaced apart from therear surface of the mirror 1011 by a certain distance, and may induce anelectromagnetic force.

In some implementations, the MEMS scanner 1010 may be drivenhorizontally/vertically due to the electromagnetic force.

The MEMS scanner 1010 may be connected to a circuit board such as aflexible printed circuit board (FPCB) or a printed circuit board (PCB).

The mirror 1011 may rotate in a first direction and a second direction.

That is, the mirror 1011 may rotate in two directions, and may reflectlight while rotating in the two directions. As such, the MEMS scanner1010 may perform scanning operation in the vertical and horizontaldirections.

FIGS. 11 and 12 examples and operations of a MEMS scanner.

Referring to FIG. 11, the MEMS scanner may include a mirror 1110 forreflecting light, first elastic bodies 1121 and 1122 for rotating themirror 1110 in a first direction, e.g., a horizontal direction, secondelastic bodies 1141 and 1142 for rotating the mirror 1110 in a seconddirection, e.g., a vertical direction, and a gimbal 1130 fordistinguishing between vertical direction rotation and horizontaldirection rotation of the mirror 1110.

Each of the second elastic bodies 1141 and 1142 may be connected to andsupported by a supporting part.

The mirror 1110 may rotate in the vertical and horizontal directions dueto the first elastic bodies 1121 and 1122 and the second elastic bodies1141 and 1142 to project incident light to the outside to be scanned inthe horizontal and vertical directions.

If a current is applied to a mirror, a magnetic field is generated dueto a magnetic substance, and a MEMS scanner using an electromagneticforce may be driven based on a Lorentz force generated due to themagnetic field.

The mirror 1110 may rotate in the first and second directions, and acircular frequency of the first direction may differ from that of thesecond direction.

The mirror 1110 may have a rectangular shape.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the mirror 1210 may have acircular shape.

Referring to FIG. 12, the MEMS scanner may include a mirror 1210 forreflecting light, first elastic bodies 1221 and 1222 for rotating themirror 1210 in a first direction, e.g., a horizontal direction, secondelastic bodies 1241 and 1242 for rotating the mirror 1210 in a seconddirection, e.g., a vertical direction, a gimbal 1230 for distinguishingbetween vertical direction rotation and horizontal direction rotation ofthe mirror 1210, and supporting parts 1251 and 1252 connected to thesecond elastic bodies 1241 and 1242.

FIG. 13 illustrates example driving signal waveforms of a scanner, andFIG. 14 illustrates example horizontal driving and vertical driving ofthe scanner.

Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, the scanner may sweep horizontally andvertically based on the driving signal waveform, perform scanning froman initial position to a final position, and repeat scanning from theinitial position.

Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, the scanner may be vertically driven basedon a ramp waveform, e.g., a sawtooth waveform, and horizontally drivenbased on a sinusoidal waveform.

FIG. 13 (a) shows a vertical sawtooth waveform having a vertical cycleT_(v), and FIG. 13 (b) shows a horizontal sinusoidal waveform having ahorizontal cycle T_(H).

For example, the scanner may linearly sweep in the vertical directionduring scanning operation along the vertical sawtooth waveform havingthe vertical cycle T_(v).

The scanner may sweep in the vertical direction, e.g., from above tobelow, during a vertical sweep period, return to an initial positionduring a fly-back period, and then newly start scanning.

In some implementations, the scanner may sweep in the horizontaldirection at a sweep frequency 1/T_(H) during scanning operation basedon the sinusoidal waveform having the horizontal cycle T_(H).

The vertical sweep period may be a scanning period in which a lightsource is turned on to output a high beam, and the fly-back period maybe a period in which the light source is turned off.

The scanner may perform scanning operation using a progressive scanningscheme for sequentially scanning lines of a scan area as described abovefor a certain time.

That is, the progressive scanning scheme is a scheme for alternatelyscanning odd-numbered lines and even-numbered lines among all lines of ascan area. For example, the odd-numbered lines may be scanned from theleft to the right, and the even-numbered lines may be scanned from theright to the left. In some implementations, the odd-numbered lines maybe scanned from the right to the left, and the even-numbered lines maybe scanned from the left to the right.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example light-emitting module 300 a. FIG. 16illustrates light output from an example light-emitting module 300 a.

Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, the light-emitting module 300 a includes acondenser lens 30 for focusing light incident from a rear side onto aspace of a front side, a laser light source 20 disposed at the rear ofthe condenser lens 30 to provide first light 21 toward the condenserlens 30, a MEMS scanner 40 disposed in front of the condenser lens 30 toprovide first reflected light 22 toward the condenser lens 30 byscanning the first light 21 in a horizontal direction and a verticaldirection, and a reflection unit 50 disposed at the rear of thecondenser lens 30 to provide second reflected light 23 toward thecondenser lens 30 by reflecting the first reflected light 22.

Herein, based on FIG. 15, the direction “front” refers to a right sideof a central axis (or optical axis) Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30, andthe direction “rear” refers to a left side of the central axis Ax₁ ofthe condenser lens 30.

In some implementations, the central axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30is a virtual line which interconnects a focal point of a front surface31 of the condenser lens 30 and the center of the condenser lens 30.

The condenser lens 30 focuses light incident from a rear side of theoptical axis onto a space of a front side of the optical axis. Thecondenser lens 30 refracts the incident light due to the shape of thecondenser lens 30 and the difference in refractive index between thecondenser lens 30 and the outside. The refractive index of the condenserlens 30 may be greater than 1 and, more particularly, may be 1.5 to 1.6.

For example, the condenser lens 30 includes a spherical lens or anaspherical lens. In some implementations, the condenser lens 30 isimplemented as an aspherical lens. The condenser lens 30 may have aconvex shape toward the front side of the optical axis Ax₁. As anotherexample, the condenser lens 30 may include a rear surface 32perpendicular to the central axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30, and thefront surface 31 convex toward the front side of the condenser lens 30.In some implementations, the rear surface 32 may have a concave shapetoward the front side of the optical axis.

The front surface 31 of the condenser lens 30 is a curved surface havinga peak on the central axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30. In someimplementations, the front surface 31 of the condenser lens 30 may be acurved surface having a focal point on the central axis Ax₁ of thecondenser lens 30 and having multiple radii of curvature.

The condenser lens 30 refracts light which is incident in parallel tothe central axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30, and focuses the lightonto an arbitrary location of the front side of the optical axis. Thecondenser lens 30 may be formed of various materials capable oftransmitting light.

The laser light source 20 receives electrical energy, converts theelectrical energy into light energy, and thus generates light. In someimplementations, the laser light source 20 is implemented as a laserdiode (LD) having good directionality and convergence of light.

The laser light source 20 may receive power supplied from a variety ofpower source devices. In some implementations, the laser light source 20may receive power supplied from a printed circuit board (PCB), a metalcore PCB, a flexible PCB, a ceramic PCB, or the like.

Herein, the laser diode is a semiconductor laser having two electrodesfor performing laser operation. In some implementations, the laser diodemay have a GaAs/Alx Ga1-xAs-based double heterojunction structure.

The laser light source 20 may generate various colors of light. In someimplementations, the laser light source 20 generates blue light havinggood optical efficiency.

The laser light source 20 is disposed at the rear of the condenser lens30 and provides the first light 21 toward the condenser lens 30. Thefirst light 21 is incident in parallel to the central axis (opticalaxis) Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30. Herein, the term “parallel” does notrefer to a mathematically parallel state but refers to a substantiallyparallel state within an allowable range.

The first light 21 may be incident on the rear surface 32 which iseccentric from the central axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30.

In some implementations, the condenser lens 30 may be divided into afirst area and a second area based on the central axis Ax₁ of thecondenser lens 30 on a cross section penetrating the central axis Ax₁.

For example, as shown in FIG. 15, the first area is an upper area (e.g.,Z direction area) based on the central axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens30. The second area is a lower area (e.g., −Z direction area) based onthe central axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30. In some implementations,the first light 21 is incident on the first area of the condenser lens30.

To this end, the laser light source 20 is located eccentrically from thecentral axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30. The laser light source 20 isspaced apart from the central axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30 in afirst direction (e.g., Z direction) perpendicular to the central axisAx₁ of the condenser lens 30. The laser light source 20 and thereflection unit 50 are disposed to face each other based on the centralaxis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30.

The first light 21 generated by the laser light source is incident on alocation which is eccentric from the central axis Ax₁ of the condenserlens 30, is refracted through the front surface 31 of the condenser lens30, and then is incident on the MEMS scanner 40.

The MEMS scanner 40 is disposed in front of the condenser lens 30,reflects the first light 21 having passed through the condenser lens 30,and provides the first reflected light 22 toward the condenser lens 30.

The MEMS scanner 40 is disposed in such a manner that the firstreflected light 22 is incident on the front surface 31 of the condenserlens 30 and then is emitted from the rear surface 32 of the condenserlens 30.

The MEMS scanner 40 is rotatably implemented to adjust the angle of thefirst reflected light 22.

In some implementations, the MEMS scanner 40 may perform scanningoperation in horizontal and vertical directions under control of thescanner driving unit 250 (see FIG. 7).

In some implementations, to efficiently provide components within alimited space of an in-vehicle lamp and to increase the efficiencythereof, the MEMS scanner 40 may be disposed in such a manner that thefirst reflected light 22 is incident on the front surface 31 which iseccentric from the central axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30. In someimplementations, the first reflected light 22 is incident on the secondarea of the condenser lens 30.

A spot of the front surface 31 of the condenser lens 30, on which thefirst reflected light 22 is incident, is spaced apart from the centralaxis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30 in a second direction. That is, thefirst reflected light 22 is incident on another area of the condenserlens 30, which is symmetrical to the area of the condenser lens 30 onwhich the first light 21 is incident.

If the MEMS scanner 40 is disposed on the central axis Ax₁ of thecondenser lens 30, the distance between the MEMS scanner 40 and thelight source is increased and thus the length of the light-emittingmodule 300 a is also increased. In some implementations, the MEMSscanner 40 is spaced apart from the central axis Ax₁ of the condenserlens 30 in the first direction (e.g., Z direction) perpendicular to thecentral axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30.

For example, the MEMS scanner 40 includes the mirror 1011 (see FIG. 10)having a reflective surface crossing the optical axis. Herein, thereflective surface may be formed of a material having good reflectioncharacteristics, e.g., a material selected from the group consisting ofsilver (Ag), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), rhodium (Rh), palladium (Pd),iridium (Ir), ruthenium (Ru), magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), platinum (Pt),gold (Au), hafnium (Hf), and a combination thereof.

The reflective surface may have a structure in which multiple layershaving different refractive indexes are alternately stacked on oneanother.

The reflection unit 50 is disposed at the rear of the condenser lens 30,reflects the first reflected light 22, and provides the second reflectedlight 23 toward the condenser lens 30.

The reflection unit 50 may serve only to reflect light, or to reflectlight and convert a wavelength thereof. For example, the reflection unit50 may convert the wavelength of blue light generated by the laser lightsource 20, to white light. A detailed description of the configurationof the reflection unit 50 will be given below. That is, the reflectionunit 50 may serve only to reflect light, or to reflect light and converta wavelength thereof depending on use of the light-emitting module 300a. Accordingly, the second reflected light 23 reflected from thereflection unit 50 may have a wavelength different from that of thefirst reflected light 22.

The reflection unit 50 is disposed at the rear of the condenser lens 30and provides the second reflected light 23 toward the condenser lens 30.

The first reflected light 22, which is incident on the front surface 31of the condenser lens 30 from the MEMS scanner 40, is refracted throughthe surface of the condenser lens 30 and is emitted from the rearsurface 32 of the second area of the condenser lens 30. The firstreflected light 22 having passed through the condenser lens 30 isincident on the reflection unit 50 and is emitted as the secondreflected light 23 from the reflection unit 50. The second reflectedlight 23 is incident on the rear surface 32 which is eccentric from thecentral axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30. In some implementations, thesecond reflected light 23 is incident on the second area of the rearsurface 32 of the condenser lens 30.

A description is now given of reflection characteristics of light.

Light may be specular-reflected or diffuse-reflected depending on thesurface properties of a reflector.

Diffuse reflection may include Gaussian reflection, Lambertianreflection, and mixed reflection.

In general, specular reflection refers to reflection in which, whenlight is incident on a point of the reflector, an angle between thenormal passing the point and an optical axis of the incident light isequal to an angle between the normal and an optical axis of reflectedlight.

Gaussian reflection refers to reflection in which the intensity ofreflected light based on an angle of the surface of a reflector and anangle between the normal and the reflected light vary to values of aGaussian function.

Lambertian reflection refers to reflection in which the intensity ofreflected light based on an angle of the surface of a reflector and anangle between the normal and the reflected light vary to values of acosine function.

Mixed reflection refers to reflection including at least two of specularreflection, Gaussian reflection, and Lambertian reflection.

In some implementations, the MEMS scanner 40 is driven vertically andhorizontally and specular-reflects light to scan the light. If thereflection unit 50 serves only to reflect light, the reflection unit 50specular-reflects the light.

In some implementations, if the reflection unit 50 serves to reflectlight and convert a wavelength thereof, the reflection unit 50 has astructure including a reflection layer and a phosphor layer coated onthe reflection layer. When the reflection unit 50 serves to reflectlight and convert a wavelength thereof, the second reflected light 23provided from the reflection unit 50 may be Lambertian-reflected ormixed-reflected light. Accordingly, when the reflection unit 50 servesto reflect light and convert a wavelength thereof, the second reflectedlight 23 may be emitted toward a front side of the optical axis Ax. Thatis, the second reflected light 23 has a fan shape having a certain angleabove and below an arbitrary line parallel to the central axis Ax₁ ofthe condenser lens 30.

In some implementations, a reflective surface of the reflection unit 50is provided to be perpendicular to the central axis Ax₁ of the condenserlens 30.

The second reflected light 23 is incident on the first area of the rearsurface 32 of the condenser lens 30, is refracted at an interface of thecondenser lens 30, and then is emitted from the condenser lens 30. Thesecond reflected light 23 having passed through the condenser lens 30has a radiation angle smaller than that of the second reflected light 23which is incident on the condenser lens 30.

Accordingly, the second reflected light 23 having passed through thecondenser lens 30 is diffused with a certain degree of directionality.Such second reflected light 23 may be used as a low beam which isprojected from the in-vehicle lamp to a short-distance area.

The reflection unit 50 is spaced apart from the central axis Ax₁ of thecondenser lens 30 in a second direction (e.g., −Z direction)perpendicular to the central axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30. Thereflection unit 50 and the laser light source 20 are disposed to faceeach other based on the central axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30.

In some implementations, the second reflected light 23 may be convertedinto light which is substantially parallel to the optical axis and thusmay be used as a high beam which is projected to a long-distance area.Thus, the light-emitting module 300 a may further include an auxiliarycondenser lens 60 for focusing the second reflected light 23 havingpassed through the condenser lens 30, in a front direction.

The auxiliary condenser lens 60 focuses light incident from the rearside of the optical axis on a space of the front side of the opticalaxis. The auxiliary condenser lens 60 refracts the incident light due tothe shape of the auxiliary condenser lens 60 and the difference inrefractive index between the auxiliary condenser lens 60 and theoutside. The refractive index of the auxiliary condenser lens 60 may begreater than 1 and, more particularly, may be 1.5 to 1.6.

For example, the auxiliary condenser lens 60 includes a spherical lensor an aspherical lens. In some implementations, the auxiliary condenserlens 60 is implemented as an aspherical lens.

The auxiliary condenser lens 60 may have a convex shape toward the frontside of the optical axis Ax₁. As another example, the auxiliarycondenser lens 60 may include a rear surface perpendicular to a centralaxis Ax₂ of the auxiliary condenser lens 60, and a front surface convextoward a front side of the auxiliary condenser lens 60. In someimplementations, the rear surface may have a concave shape toward thefront side of the optical axis.

The central axis Ax₂ of the auxiliary condenser lens 60 is locatedeccentrically from the central axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30. Insome implementations, the central axis Ax₂ of the auxiliary condenserlens 60 may be located within the second area of the condenser lens 30.In some implementations, the central axis Ax₂ of the auxiliary condenserlens 60 horizontally overlaps with the central axis Ax₁ of the condenserlens 30. In some implementations, the central axis Ax2 of the auxiliarycondenser lens 60 is parallel to the central axis Ax₁ of the condenserlens 30.

The light incident on the auxiliary condenser lens 60 from a rear sidethereof is refracted at an interface of the auxiliary condenser lens 60and then is emitted as light parallel to the optical axis.

The light having wavelength-converted and reflected by the reflectionunit 50 is incident similarly to light incident from a focal point ofthe auxiliary condenser lens 60, and is efficiently converted into lightparallel to the optical axis. The auxiliary condenser lens 60 may beformed of the same material as the condenser lens 30.

FIGS. 17 and 18 illustrate refraction and reflection of light outputfrom an example light-emitting module 300 a.

Referring to FIG. 18, Snell's law related to refraction of light is asgiven below.

n sin i=n′ sin i′

A refraction formula is obtained by transforming Snell's law as givenbelow.

ni ≅ n^(′)i^(′) n(α − u) = n^(′)(α − u^(′))${n\left( {\frac{h}{r} - u} \right)} = {n^{\prime}\left( {\frac{h}{r} - u^{\prime}} \right)}$${n^{\prime}u^{\prime}} = {{nu} + {\frac{h}{r}\left( {n^{\prime} - n} \right)}}$

Herein, n refers to a refractive index of a medium before refraction, n′refers to a refractive index of the medium after refraction, i refers toan angle between an incident surface of light and a vertical plane, andi′ refers to an angle between emitted light and the vertical plane.

Using the above refraction formula, a distance h from the central axisAx₁ of the condenser lens 30 to each component may be calculated asgiven below.

${n^{\prime}u^{\prime}} = {\left. {{nu} + {\frac{h}{r}\left( {n^{\prime} - n} \right)}}\Rightarrow h \right. = \frac{r\left( {{n^{\prime}u^{\prime}} - {nu}} \right)}{\left( {n^{\prime} - n} \right)}}$

Herein, r refers to a radius of curvature of a lens.

The condenser lens 30 may be an aspherical lens, a central part of whichhas a radius of curvature smaller than that of an edge part.

The laser light source 20, the MEMS scanner 40, and the reflection unit50 overlap with the condenser lens 30 when viewed from the front side ofthe central axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens 30. Accordingly, a housingaccommodating the light-emitting module 300 a may be reduced to the sizeof the condenser lens 30.

In some implementations, a first distance h1 between the central axisAx₁ of the condenser lens 30 and the laser light source 20 is smallerthan a radius L of the condenser lens 30. Herein, the first distance h1is calculated using the above-described distance calculation formula.

In some implementations, a second distance h2 between the central axisAx₁ of the condenser lens 30 and the reflection unit 50 is smaller thanthe radius L of the condenser lens 30. The second distance h2 is alsocalculated using the above-described distance calculation formula. Thereflection unit 50 is disposed at the rear of the condenser lens 30 and,more particularly, near the rear surface 32 of the condenser lens 30.

In some implementations, the first distance h1 of the laser light source20 may equal the second distance h2 of the reflection unit 50. In someimplementations, a ratio of the first distance h1 to the second distanceh2 may be 1:0.7 to 1:1.1. In some implementations, the ratio of thefirst distance hl to the second distance h2 may be 1:0.94 to 1:0.98.

A third distance h3 between the central axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens30 and the MEMS scanner 40 is smaller than the radius L of the condenserlens 30 and is greater than 0. The third distance h3 is also calculatedusing the above-described distance calculation formula.

A fourth distance h4 between the central axis Ax₁ of the condenser lens30 and an incident spot of the first reflected light 22 may be smallerthan the first distance h1 or the second distance h2. In someimplementations, a ratio of the first distance h1 of the laser lightsource 20 to the fourth distance h4 of the incident spot may be 1:0.1 to1:0.6. In some implementations, the ratio of the first distance h1 ofthe laser light source 20 to the fourth distance h4 of the incident spotmay be 1:0.35 to 1:0.37.

For convenience of assembly, the light-emitting module 300 a isgenerally accommodated in a hexahedral housing. Accordingly, bydisposing the laser light source 20 at an upper rear side of thecondenser lens 30 and disposing the reflection unit 50 at a lower rearside of the condenser lens 30, the length of the light-emitting module300 a may be reduced, use of space may be maximized, and thus thelight-emitting module 300 a may be accommodated in the housing.

In some implementations, by disposing the auxiliary condenser lens 60 ata lower front side of the condenser lens 30 and disposing the MEMSscanner 40 at an upper front side of the condenser lens 30, the lengthof the light-emitting module 300 a may be reduced, use of space may bemaximized, and thus the light-emitting module 300 a may be accommodatedin the housing.

FIGS. 19(a) and 19(b) illustrate example reflection units 50.

Referring to FIG. 19(a), the reflection unit 50 includes a wavelengthconversion layer 52 for converting a wavelength of incident light, and areflection layer 51 for reflecting the incident light.

An interface of the reflection layer 51 is provided to be perpendicularto the optical axis Ax₁. The reflection layer may be formed of amaterial having good reflection characteristics, e.g., a materialselected from the group consisting of Ag, Ni, Al, Rh, Pd, Ir, Ru, Mg,Zn, Pt, Au, Hf, and a combination thereof.

The wavelength conversion layer 52 converts the wavelength of theincident light. In some implementations, blue light is incident on thewavelength conversion layer 52 and is converted into white light.

The wavelength conversion layer 52 is located in front of the reflectionlayer 51. Accordingly, the incident first reflected light 22 iswavelength-converted by the wavelength conversion layer 52, and isreflected by the reflection layer to be converted into the secondreflected light 23 proceeding toward the condenser lens 30.

For example, the wavelength conversion layer 52 may have a structure inwhich a phosphor is dispersed in a base layer, e.g., transparentsilicone. The phosphor is selected depending on the wavelength of lightemitted from the laser light source 20, in such a manner that thelight-emitting module 300 a emits white light.

Depending on the wavelength of the light emitted from the laser lightsource 20, the phosphor may include one of a blue light-emittingphosphor, a blue-green light-emitting phosphor, a green light-emittingphosphor, a yellow-green light-emitting phosphor, a yellowlight-emitting phosphor, a yellow-red light-emitting phosphor, an orangelight-emitting phosphor, and a red light-emitting phosphor.

In some implementations, if the laser light source 20 is a blue laserdiode and the phosphor is a yellow phosphor, the yellow phosphor may beexcited by blue light and emit yellow light. The blue light generated bythe blue laser diode and the yellow light excited by the blue light maybe mixed and thus the light-emitting module 300 a may provide whitelight.

As another example, the wavelength conversion layer 52 may beimplemented as a coating layer or a film layer. In some implementations,the wavelength conversion layer 52 may include a yellow opto-ceramicwhich has excellent thermal stability compared to conventionalphosphors.

As another example, as shown in FIG. 19(b), a heat sink 53 may becoupled to a surface of the reflection layer 51 of the reflection unit50. The heat sink 53 dissipates heat generated from the reflection unit50, thereby improving thermal stability of the reflection unit 50.

FIGS. 20 to 24 illustrate an example light-emitting module and scanningoperation.

FIG. 20 illustrates elements related to the scanning operation.

Referring to FIG. 20, in the light-emitting module, light incident fromthe laser light source 20 is scanned by the MEMS scanner 40 inhorizontal and vertical directions.

The reflection unit 50 may reflect the scanned light in such a mannerthat the light is output and scanned to the outside.

Referring to FIG. 21, the light-emitting module may include thecondenser lens 30 for focusing light incident from a rear side of anoptical axis, onto a space of a front side of the optical axis, thelaser light source 20 disposed at the rear of the condenser lens 30 toprovide first light toward the condenser lens 30, the MEMS scanner 40disposed in front of the condenser lens 30 to provide first reflectedlight toward the condenser lens 30 by scanning the first light in ahorizontal direction and a vertical direction, and the reflection unit50 disposed at the rear of the condenser lens 30 to provide secondreflected light toward the condenser lens 30 by reflecting the firstreflected light.

In some implementations, the light-emitting module may further includethe auxiliary condenser lens 60 for focusing the second reflected lighthaving passed through the condenser lens 30, in a front direction.

The light-emitting module may be included in a headlamp for vehicles,and may be the first light-emitting module 300 a described above inrelation to FIGS. 7, etc.

The headlamp may further include the interface unit 280 (see FIG. 7) forreceiving oncoming vehicle detection information acquired by detectingan oncoming vehicle driving in the opposite lane, and the processor 270(see FIG. 7) for generating a control signal for switching on and offstates of the laser light source 20, based on the oncoming vehicledetection information.

Herein, the oncoming vehicle detection information may be informationgenerated by the driver assistance apparatus 100 including the camera195, based on a vehicle front image or a vehicle peripheral imageobtained by the camera 195, as described above in relation to FIGS. 5and 6.

The light-emitting module of the headlamp may further include the lightsource driving unit 260 a (FIG. 7) for controlling on and off timings ofthe laser light source 20 based on a certain control signal.

In some implementations, the light-emitting module of the headlamp mayfurther include the scanner driving unit 250 (see FIG. 7) forcontrolling horizontal direction scanning operation and verticaldirection scanning operation of the MEMS scanner 40. In someimplementations, the scanner driving unit 250 may drive the horizontaldirection scanning operation based on a sinusoidal waveform, and drivethe vertical direction scanning operation based on a sawtooth waveform,as described above in relation to FIGS. 13 and 14.

Light incident from the laser light source 20 may be scanned by the MEMSscanner 40 in horizontal and vertical scanning directions, and thescanned light may be reflected and output to the outside by thereflection unit 50.

As such, as illustrated in FIG. 20, the light may be output to anexternal scan area 2100 and may be scanned downward sequentially fromthe left (or right) to the right (or left) and then to the left (orright).

If the laser light source 20 of the light-emitting module 300 a isturned on and light passes through optical components and then isscanned and output to the outside, a front side of the vehicle 700 isbrightened due to the light output from the light-emitting module 300 a.

The driver assistance apparatus 100 may detect an oncoming vehicle 2000driving in the opposite lane. The driver assistance apparatus 100 maytransmit oncoming vehicle detection information to the processor 270 ofthe in-vehicle lamp 200. The oncoming vehicle detection information maybe transmitted to the processor 270 of the in-vehicle lamp 200 directlyor via the controller 770.

The oncoming vehicle detection information may include locationinformation of the oncoming vehicle 2000, and relative distanceinformation and relative speed information between the vehicle 700 andthe oncoming vehicle 2000.

The processor 270 may generate a control signal for switching on and offstates of the laser light source 20, based on the oncoming vehicledetection information.

In some implementations, the light source driving unit 260 a may controlthe on or off state of the laser light source 20 based on the controlsignal of the processor 270.

Referring to FIG. 21, the laser light source 20 may be turned off in ascanning period 2110 in which light is directed to the oncoming vehicle2000, and may be turned on in a scanning period 2120 in which light isnot directed to the oncoming vehicle 2000.

Accordingly, since light is not projected toward a driver of theoncoming vehicle 2000, glare may be prevented.

FIGS. 22(a) to 22(c) are schematic diagrams showing examples of highbeam scanning of the in-vehicle lamp 200. Referring to FIG. 22(a), ifthe oncoming vehicle 2000 is detected, the laser light source 20 may beturned off in a period 2212 in which output light scans the oncomingvehicle 2000, and may be turned on in periods 2211 and 2213 prior andsubsequent to the period 2212.

Although FIGS. 22(a) to 22(c) illustrate a few lines high-resolutionscanning is enabled using the MEMS scanner 40. Accordingly, light mayscan the oncoming vehicle 2000 in one or more periods.

Referring to FIG. 22(b), if the oncoming vehicle 2000 is detected, thelaser light source 20 may be turned off in periods 2222 and 2224 inwhich output light scans the oncoming vehicle 2000, and may be turned onin periods 2221, 2223, and 2225 prior and subsequent to the periods 2222and 2224.

In some implementations, if the driver assistance apparatus 100 iscapable of detecting not only the oncoming vehicle 2000 but also adriver thereof, as illustrated in FIG. 22(c), the laser light source 20may be turned off in a period 2232 in which output light scans thedriver, and may be turned on in periods 2231 and 2233 prior andsubsequent to the period 2232.

In some implementations, only one laser light source is included.

For example, the light-emitting module may include two or more laserlight sources.

Referring to FIG. 23, the light-emitting module may include thecondenser lens 30 for focusing light incident from a rear side of anoptical axis, onto a space of a front side of the optical axis, laserlight sources 20 a and 20 b disposed at the rear of the condenser lens30 to provide first light toward the condenser lens 30, the MEMS scanner40 disposed in front of the condenser lens 30 to provide first reflectedlight toward the condenser lens 30 by scanning the first light in ahorizontal direction and a vertical direction, and the reflection unit50 disposed at the rear of the condenser lens 30 to provide secondreflected light toward the condenser lens 30 by reflecting the firstreflected light.

In some implementations, the light-emitting module may further include acombination unit 25 for combining output light of the laser lightsources 20 a and 20 b. The combination unit 25 is capable of reflect ortransmit light per wavelength and may be implemented as, for example, adichroic mirror.

FIG. 24 illustrates an example light-emitting module.

Referring to FIG. 24(a), the light-emitting module may include thecondenser lens 30 for focusing light incident from a rear side of anoptical axis, onto a space of a front side of the optical axis, the MEMSscanner 40 for providing first reflected light toward the condenser lens30 by scanning first light having passed through the condenser lens 30,in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction, and the reflectionunit 50 disposed at the rear of the condenser lens 30 to provide secondreflected light toward the condenser lens 30 by reflecting the firstreflected light.

Referring to FIG. 24(b), the light-emitting module may include thecondenser lens 30 for focusing light incident from a rear side of anoptical axis, onto a space of a front side of the optical axis, a laserlight source a disposed at the rear of the condenser lens 30 to providefirst light toward the condenser lens 30, a reflection unit 41 disposedin front of the condenser lens 30 to provide first reflected light byreflecting the first light, a MEMS scanner 42 disposed at the rear ofthe condenser lens 30 to provide second reflected light toward thecondenser lens 30 by scanning the first reflected light in a horizontaldirection and a vertical direction, and a wavelength conversion unit 51for converting the incident second reflected light into a differentwavelength of light.

In some implementations, the wavelength conversion unit 51 may include atransmissive phosphor.

The light scanned by the MEMS scanner 42 may be converted into whitelight through the transmissive phosphor 51, and the converted whitelight may be emitted in a front direction.

The effects of a headlamp for vehicles and a vehicle including the sameare as described below.

According to at least one implementation of the subject matter describedin this specification, optimal-structure and ultra-high-resolution beamscanning may be implemented using a MEMS scanner.

According to at least one implementation of the subject matter describedin this specification, by disposing a laser light source at an upperrear side of a condenser lens and disposing a reflection unit at a lowerrear side of the condenser lens, the length of the light-emitting modulemay be reduced, use of space may be maximized, and thus thelight-emitting module may be accommodated in a housing.

In addition, according to at least one implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, by disposing an auxiliarycondenser lens at a lower front side of the condenser lens and disposingthe reflection unit at an upper front side of the condenser lens, thelength of the light-emitting module may be reduced, use of space may bemaximized, and thus the light-emitting module may be accommodated in thehousing.

Furthermore, according to at least one implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, since upper and lower areas ofthe condenser lens are separately used, the number of components may bereduced and a manufacturing cost may also be reduced.

Besides, according to at least one implementation of the subject matterdescribed in this specification, since a reflective phosphor is used,the efficiency of light may be improved.

Additionally, according to at least one implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, light having excellent opticalconvergence and directionality may be provided using a structure.

Furthermore, according to at least one implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, by controlling output lightbased on the presence and location of an oncoming vehicle driving in theopposite lane, the road may be sufficiently illuminated without causingglare to a driver of the oncoming vehicle.

A variety of effects other than those described above are explicitly orimplicitly disclosed in the detailed description.

In the drawings, parts irrelevant to description are omitted for clarityand brevity, and like reference numerals denote like components.

The terms “module” and “unit” used to signify components are used hereinto help the understanding of the components and thus should not beconstrued as having specific meanings or functions. Accordingly, theterms “module” and “unit” may be used interchangeably.

A headlamp for vehicles and a vehicle including the same are not limitedto the configurations and methods of the above-describedimplementations. However, the implementations may be variously changedor modified such that all or some of the implementations may beconfigured in combination.

1. (canceled)
 2. A headlamp for vehicles, the headlamp comprising alight-emitting module comprising: a condenser lens that is configured tofocus light incident from a rear end of an optical axis, onto a space ofa front end of the optical axis; a laser light source that is located ata rear of the condenser lens and that is configured to provide lighttoward the condenser lens; and a microelectromechanical system (MEMS)scanner that is located in front of the condenser lens and that isconfigured to reflect light toward the condenser lens by scanning thelight from the laser light source in a horizontal direction and avertical direction.
 3. The headlamp according to claim 2, furthercomprising: an interface unit that is configured to generate oncomingvehicle detection information based on detecting an oncoming vehicledriving in an opposite lane; and a processor that is configured togenerate, based on the oncoming vehicle detection information, a controlsignal for switching the laser light source on and off.
 4. The headlampaccording to claim 3, wherein the oncoming vehicle detection informationis generated by a driver assistance apparatus comprising a camera and isbased on a vehicle front image or a vehicle peripheral image obtained bythe camera.
 5. The headlamp according to claim 2, wherein thelight-emitting module further comprises a light source driving unit thatis configured to control switching of the laser light source on and offbased on a control signal.
 6. The headlamp according to claim 2, whereinthe light-emitting module further comprises a scanner driving unit thatis configured to control a horizontal direction scanning operation and avertical direction scanning operation of the MEMS scanner.
 7. Theheadlamp according to claim 6, wherein the scanner driving unit isconfigured to activate the horizontal direction scanning operation inresponse to a sinusoidal waveform, and activate the vertical directionscanning operation in response to a sawtooth waveform.
 8. The headlampaccording to claim 2, wherein the light from the laser light source isincident in parallel to a central axis of the condenser lens.
 9. Theheadlamp according to claim 2, wherein the condenser lens is anaspherical lens.
 10. The headlamp according to claim 9, wherein theaspherical lens comprises: a rear surface that is perpendicular to acentral axis of the condenser lens; and a front surface that is convextoward a front side of the condenser lens.
 11. The headlamp according toclaim 2, wherein the light-emitting module further comprises areflection unit that is located at the rear of the condenser lens andthat is configured to reflect light toward the condenser lens byreflecting light reflected by the MEMS scanner.
 12. The headlampaccording to claim 11, wherein the light-emitting module furthercomprises an auxiliary condenser lens that is configured to focus lightreflected by the reflection unit and having passed through the condenserlens, in a forward direction.
 13. The headlamp according to claim 11,wherein the laser light source and the reflection unit are locatedeccentrically from a central axis of the condenser lens.
 14. Theheadlamp according to claim 13, wherein: the laser light source isseparated from the central axis of the condenser lens in a firstdirection that is perpendicular to the central axis of the condenserlens, and the reflection unit is separated from the central axis of thecondenser lens in a second direction that is opposite to the firstdirection.
 15. The headlamp according to claim 11, wherein thereflection unit is separated from a central axis of the condenser lensin a first direction.
 16. The headlamp according to claim 11, whereinthe laser light source and the reflection unit face each other and arelocated on a central axis of the condenser lens.
 17. The headlampaccording to claim 11, wherein: the condenser lens is divided into afirst area and a second area by a central axis of the condenser lensintersecting a cross section of the condenser lens, light from the laserlight source is incident on the first area, light reflected by the MEMSscanner is incident on the second area, and light reflected by thereflection unit is incident on the second area.
 18. The headlampaccording to claim 11, wherein the reflection unit modifies a wavelengthof light reflected by the MEMS scanner to match a wavelength of lightreflected by the reflection unit.
 19. The headlamp according to claim18, wherein the reflection unit comprises: a wavelength conversion layerthat is configured to modify a wavelength of incident light; and areflection layer that is configured to reflect incident light.
 20. Avehicle comprising the headlamp according to claim 1.